'Piano Man' a fake, and not much of a player either

Page Tools

HE WAS found wandering on a beach in Kent in April and he would
not speak a word. The one thing the apparently traumatised man did
was to play the piano beautifully. Or did he?

Four months since the story of the "Piano Man" touched the
hearts of people around the world, a report in the Daily
Mirror yesterday alleged that the man was a fake, a German who
has no trouble speaking but can hardly play the piano at all.

He travelled to Britain on a Eurostar train and told staff at
the Little Brook Hospital in Kent that he was trying to commit
suicide when police found him, the report said. The man also said
he used to work with mentally ill patients.

Health executives are considering suing the man, who flew home
to Germany on Saturday, for the money spent on his treatment.

A hospital staff member told the newspaper: "A nurse went into
his room last Friday and said, 'Are you going to speak to us
today?' He simply answered, 'Yes, I think I will.'

"We were stunned. He has been with us for months and we have got
nowhere with him. We thought he was going to be with us
forever."

The hospital said in a statement yesterday that the man had been
discharged from its care "following a marked improvement in his
condition".

The newspaper said the man, far from being a skilled pianist,
could only tap one note for hours at a time. Yet a hospital press
release and interviews with staff in May stated that he played
beautiful classical music.

A hospital staff member told the Mirror: "He had us all
fooled though, including two very senior doctors." The man used to
work with mentally ill patients and may have copied some of their
characteristics to fool psychiatric doctors.

Page Tools

SPONSORED LINKS

1124562802834-theage.com.auhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/world/piano-man-a-fake-and-not-much-of-a-player-either/2005/08/22/1124562802834.htmltheage.com.auThe Age2005-08-23'Piano Man' a fake, and not much of a player eitherJames Button<br />LondonWorld